About Kenya

Kenya is a country in east Africa bordering the Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda and the Indian Ocean. The country is known for its endless beaches and crystal clear water, but it is probably its wild life which is most astonishing. Especially fascinating are Kenya’s large mammals in the savanna: elephants, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, lions and other large cats. Most of these animals live in national parks and reserves, nevertheless, have poachers managed to reduce the number of large mammals in Kenya, especially the African elephant.   Programs Available Volunteer - Elephant & Wildlife Project, Amboseli Volunteer - Olowaru Predator, Elephant Conservation Project   To learn more about the programs we have available use the links at the top of the screen.   Click on the PDF icon to download program details

Volunteer – Elephant & Wildlife Project, Amboseli (This program is currently not available.)

 

This project is located outside the Amboseli National Park on private community (Maasai) land. These areas are called ranches. There are no fences between the National Park and the ranches. Volunteers will assist local Maasai communities living outside the National Park, to establish which animals traverse their property and which are resident. The project involves working with these communities to develop sustainable tourism opportunities. The project recognizes the needs and rights of the local people to generate income from wildlife as well as the needs and rights of animals to access quality habitats under increased security. Volunteer’s work will include:

 

• Data collection together with community game scouts.

• Tracking and recording elephants and other wildlife species opportunistically and on fixed transects.

• The work will be done in a vehicle, which will be used to follow the elephants quite closely.

• Counting elephant numbers and recording their location using a GPS.
• Recording the number and location of other large mammals within their locality.
• Volunteers will be encouraged to look for and participate in community projects such as building and working in schools and medical clinics. This work will be done outside the park.

 

Length:

2 weeks, second half of each month

 

Lead Time:

3 months

 

Application Requirements

• Minimum 18 years old

• Tourist visa, which can be obtained at port of entry (cost of US$50-00)

• Completed and signed application form

 

Included in the Program Fees

• Airport pickup, transfer to hotel
• One night accommodation at hotel in Nairobi
• Basic orientation on arrival
• Transfer to camp
• Accommodation and food at camp
• Transfer back to Nairobi
• One night accommodation at hotel in Nairobi
• Transfer back to airport for flight home

 

Accommodation

• Volunteers will be accommodated in the bush camp
• Volunteers must provide their own sleeping bag and mosquito net

 

Optional Services

• Any additional accommodation that volunteers may need in Nairobi, can be booked separately.

 

Program Fees*

• Applications Fee: ZAR3650

• Program Fee: ZAR3745 per week

 

 

 

*Please note that payments in different currencies will be charged in Australian dollars according to the exchange rate of the day. You can check the accurate conversion rates at the time of payment at www.xe.com/ucc. Please also note that an international transfer fee of AUD$35 will apply.

 

Volunteer - Olowaru Lion, Elephant Conservation Project (This program is currently not available.)

 

Program Description: The lion is becoming extremely rare outside of Kenya’s protected areas. Their numbers are threatened by direct and indirect persecution. They are persecuted directly when lions are killed due to threats to human beings and livestock. Indirectly, they are threatened when there is competition for prey with human beings due to poaching, trophy hunting and competition for grazing areas. These factors have greatly reduced the numbers of lions in their former range. The Olowaru Lion, Elephant Conservation Project focuses on three main areas to counter this development:

• Animal numbers - This will involve direct and indirect animal count data collection. The direct counts will transect counts in pre-selected blocks. The blocks will represent areas of differing land-use patterns. This data collection will involve the use of a 4x4 vehicle driving along the roads and recording encounters of any predators or elephant, scat and other animal. Only spoor that is fresh will be recorded.

• Animal diet - This will be done by observation of kills, flora destruction and examination of the scats or dung collected. This will be augmented by counting the wild herbivore in the core area of the predator range.

• Conflicts and local attitude - Reports of lion and elephant attacks will be followed up and recorded. This will be compared to the reports made to Kenya Wildlife Services. Where the lion and elephant attacks are confirmed, data will be collected on the circumstances and the habitat at the attack site. This will include such data as the herding system i.e. presence of a herder and herd dogs.

 

Location Options:

South East of Nairobi

 

Length:

2 weeks, first half of each month

 

Lead Time:

3 months

 

Application Requirements

 

• 18 years old and over
• Application Documents: Completed and signed application form
• Tourist visa, which can be obtained at port of entry (cost of US$50.00)

 

Included in the Program Fees

• Airport pick-up, transfer to hotel

• One night accommodation at hotel in Nairobi

• Basic orientation on arrival

• Training

• Wild at Heart 24 hour support

• Transfer to camp

• Accommodation and food at camp

• Transfer back to Nairobi, one night accommodation at hotel in Nairobi

• Transfer back to airport for flight home

 

Accommodation

 

Volunteers will be accommodated at the Olowaru Tented research camp, in tents set on private Maasai land bordering Tsavo-West National Park. Operations do not occur in the Tsavo National Park as there are no fences at all in these areas so wildlife traverse freely.

 

 

Program Fees*

• Applications Fee: ZAR3650

• Program Fee: ZAR3745 per week

   

 

*Please note that payments in different currencies will be charged in Australian dollars according to the exchange rate of the day. You can check the accurate conversion rates at the time of payment at www.xe.com/ucc. Please also note that an international transfer fee of AUD$35 will apply.